(NewsNation) — Scientists are proposing the creation of a “doomsday vault” on the moon, storing seeds and biological samples from critical species.
An international group of scientists came up with the idea, suggesting that the moon would be ideal for storing seeds and cryopreserved biological samples of plants and animals important to the planet.
The moon makes an ideal storage environment because the lack of an atmosphere means there would be no threats from weather. There are also craters at the poles where sunlight never shines, and temperatures never get above minus 321°F, plenty cold enough to preserve samples without needing to supply power.
Biorepositories aren’t a new idea. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault already stores samples of critical food crops that could be used to reestablish species wiped out by drought, disease or other environmental catastrophes.
But that vault, located in Svalbard, Norway, has faced unexpected risks due to flooding caused by climate change. While scientists were able to prevent any seeds from being damaged, the flooding made it clear there are risks to storing seeds on Earth, even in seemingly safe locations.
In addition to seeds, animals could also be preserved. Skin cells called fibroblasts are easily cryopreserved, and if needed, they could be transformed into stem cells and cloned to restore a species.
While endangered species may spring to mind as candidates for preservation, some scientists have suggested a better strategy would be to look at what is critical for the environment. That includes plants or animals that can transform the environment, like coral reefs or tropical forests, pollinators, key food crops and oxygen producers. It could also involve ancestral species that could evolve into others.
In the event a species was wiped out on Earth, the vault could be used to restore it. In the event of a greater catastrophe that could render our home planet uninhabitable, a vault could theoretically be used to terraform and populate other planets in hopes of creating a home for Earth’s inhabitants.
But the proposal isn’t without questions. In addition to the challenge of building a facility on the moon, scientists would have to figure out how to transport samples to the vault, how to protect them from radiation and determine who would govern what could be a critical resource.
To test the plan, scientists are developing a protocol around a single species, the starry goby, and hope to work with space agencies and conduct tests on the International Space Station.